Education secretary explains why government didn’t act on crumbling schools sooner

As many pupils across the country will be forced to resume their studies online or in temporary facilities, the education secretary has been asked why action wasn’t taken during the Covid lockdown.

Sky News presenter Kay Burley quizzed Gilligan Keegan on Monday morning as more than 100 schools face immediate closure following fears over a type of concrete, described as “80 per cent air”.

Kay Burley asked: “Why not challenge the problem during Covid when the schools were empty?”

Ms Keegan said the government decided to take a “different approach”.